


Trope Pantheons Adventures: The Meta-Nav Downloader

by ragnacrap



Series: TV Tropes Pantheons Stories [2]
Category: Iji (Video Game), Persona 5, TV Tropes Pantheons
Genre: Crossover Character(s) - Freeform, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen, Multiple Selves, TV Tropes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:34:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21549181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ragnacrap/pseuds/ragnacrap
Summary: With the Phantom Thieves of Hearts in the Trope Pantheons, given the Metaverse Navigator they possess, it was only a matter of time before other people took an interest in acquiring it for themselves.
Series: TV Tropes Pantheons Stories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1552945
Kudos: 1





	1. The Suspicion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom Thieves find that their Meta-Nav is in possession of someone other than them or Goro Akechi.

nightelf37: Before I begin, there's something I have to tell you. I am a contributor in the Massive Multiplayer Crossover called the Trope Pantheons in the website TV Tropes. It is is a universe where tropes in TV Tropes have representatives from all forms of fiction (and some from real life, too) who are marked as deities. As stated in its main page… 

“We here at TV Tropes love to categorize things. Tropes, television shows, books, and even people. So, we eventually got to thinking: What would things be like if the world were run entirely on tropes (which it very well could be)? Who would be the Gods and Goddesses? Who would be their worshippers? Obviously, there can never be one singular deity to watch over everything... so we pooled our resources and tried to come up with as many ideas as possible. No initial payment required to enter... it's all in good fun.”

It's come to my knowledge that I might not have the best of standings in there (the community has its rules to keep things from getting too messy), so I decided to publish it here. 

Warning: Spoilers for the two works, as expected. This story takes place after it/them. And no content from Persona 5 The Royal; this was planned long before that expansion.

Enjoy. 

**Profiles**

Titles may change locations at any time (and even titles might change, too, but there's only so much I can do), and links aren't allowed in Fanfiction dot Net, either, where I will post this story in as well, so I'll just give you titles to type on (copy-pasting text apparently doesn't work here either unless you're in the Mobile version) the TV Tropes search engine or Google, and I believe you can figure out the rest. 

Reading prerequisites: (read these profiles before you proceed with the fanfic lest you get utterly confused; the Trope Pantheons is not newbie-friendly for those unfamiliar with TV Tropes.)

  * The Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Celestial Crew of Phantom Thieves
  * Iji Kataiser, Goddess of Morality-Tracking Gameplay 
  * The Metaverse, Holy Seat of Cognition



Yes, locations have profiles here, too. 

Advised readings: (you may read these after reading the fic)

  * Pantheonic Personas
  * Cosmos, Goddess of Good
  * The Investigation Team, Gods of Unbelievable Source Plots
  * Nyarlathotep, Embodiment of All Evil In Humanity's Heart
  * Philemon, Embodiment of Humanity's Inner Goodness
  * The TV World, Seat of Worlds Within Television and Inner Thoughts
  * DedSec, San Francisco chapter, Gods of Hackers Heralded by Pirate Imagery (Marcus Holloway)
  * Persona 3 (A/N: I'm not enumerating each deity; the Pantheon has its own index)
  * Persona 2
  * The Reaper, God of Time Penalty Bosses and Chest Monsters
  * TRON, God of Futuristic Lines



Additional readings: (you don't _have to_ read these, but should you be interested…)

  * Grand United Alliance of Good
  * Igor, God of the Creepy Good
  * Nanako Dojima, Goddess of Innocents Triggering Protective Instincts
  * Ryotaro Dojima, God of Lingering Guilt From One Unsolved Case
  * Sojiro Sakura, God of Curry
  * Chihaya Mifune, Goddess of Symbol Motif Clothing
  * Hifumi Togo, Patron Saint of Ambiguous Christianity
  * Sae Niijima, Goddess of Attractive Attorneys
  * Vincent Brooks, God of Climbing to Survive
  * Marie, Goddess of Honorary True Companions
  * Ghetsis Harmonia, God of Not Believing In Your Own Cause
  * N, God of True Believers In False Groups
  * Goro Akechi, God of Resentful Illegitimate Children
  * Flynn, God of Samurai Ponytails
  * Barbie, Goddess of Pink
  * Carmen Sandiego, Goddess of Impossible Thefts
  * The Protectors of the Plot Continuum, Divine Mary Sue Hunter Organization



Extra notes: For a while, the Phantoms had separate titles and we're all over the Pantheon. Check their profile for details and what they used to have. As for Iji, there's actually two of her, representing each… way you can play her game; Pacifist or Berserker. 

Yeah, that's how things roll in the Pantheon.

But here are some basics:

The TV World in Persona 4 is a Dominion in the Pantheon, and characters can go there to confront their Shadows. There's also a chance for them to awaken Personas as well. Pacifist Iji is one of those new Persona-users, read her profile for details. That said, to keep things from going the way Persona 2: Innocent Sin went, as well as to maintain balance in the Pantheon, just like how Persona-users can't use their power in the real world, the same restriction applies for these new Persona-users, while those who came from the Persona series can use them outside the TV World in the Pantheon proper.

Now… time to present… 

* * *

#  **The Meta-Nav Downloader**

Ever since Ren Amamiya's ascension to the Trope Pantheons (initially under his manga name Akira Kurusu), consequently bringing the rest of the crew to the Pantheon who weren't already here (later getting them positions as deities as well), he had been musing on what they can do on the Pantheon. 

While they have been offered by Cosmos to join her Grand United Alliance, the prospect of becoming soldiers in the Pantheonic Wars wasn't a pleasing thought. They're adamant in not using the Metaverse to **that** end, but they're willing to help in other ways; Futaba already accepted the offer to join the White Hats. 

In other news, Yu Narukami went over “just in case” and shut down any notions of an extensive "Persona-awakening service" (though using it as “therapy” is still an option); Philemon himself requested this, as to bestow too many Personas to the Pantheon's deities would destabilize reality because of the different rules of each individual universe. While the Pantheon may be more flexible, how these powers and rules interact is still delicate. There's also the fact that Nyarlathotep might reenact the plan(s) he pulled in Sumaru City, and that would be as catastrophic as what Nyx or Yaldabaoth have pulled off. 

This wasn't good news to the Phantoms, even though other deities still managed to obtain Personas; it's just that as part of the restrictions placed, only deities who come from the same worlds watched over by Philemon and Igor can use Personas in the Pantheon proper (this includes the ones without them, like the Dojimas, Sojiro, Chihaya, Hifumi, the recently-ascended Sae, and _even_ Vincent Brooks, and the first and last of those _have_ acquired Personas). The rest can only use theirs in the TV World, Metaverse, or any other future dimension that will allow for Persona awakening. 

Speaking of, out of courtesy in case either team might need the other, Yu told Ren of what the Investigation Team does in the Pantheon's TV World, explaining the nature of its Shadows, and how the Team got their Personas, even escorting the Phantoms to the TV World to demonstrate. In return, Ren took the Team (and a tag-along Marie) to the Metaverse, specifically the Pantheon's Mementos. There, they explained what they do here, as well as the nature of Palaces and _their_ Shadows, though those from the TV World have been appearing in the Metaverse too as of late. Futaba didn't entrust them with the Meta-Nav, though, due to security risks, the chance of being hacked, and it would be harder for her to update everyone's phones’ antivirus countermeasures.

Curiously enough, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts get changed into their thief outfits upon entering a TV World dungeon, likely from the Shadows perceiving them as a threat (and Futaba first discovered it also occurs when the Phantoms get threatened even in the 'real world', and why Morgana isn't always a normal cat in the Pantheon, sometimes taking on the form he usually does in the Metaverse). On the other hand, for some reason, despite it being a side-effect of the Metaverse, where one's thief outfit is what they think a 'rebel' looks like, only Persona-users who got theirs from that place get such things (i.e. Yu and company still look the same even when entering Palaces or deep in Mementos, despite also being Persona-users). They can still use their Midnight Channel-acquired Personas in the Metaverse, though, and the same applies for S.E.E.S./the Shadow Operatives, whom they have also given a tour and lowdown of the Metaverse to.

It's also a pseudo-rule to have a code name when operating in Mementos or a Metaverse Palace, and progress is being made to find appropriate ones for all the other Persona-user teams (and other interested independents they allow).

Another thing discovered throughout cooperative battles in Mementos (for the Operatives and the Team) is that a “Baton Pass” can be performed after someone deals a critical hit on an enemy and knocks them over. By “passing” to an ally, their recovery (though only through Personas) and attack (available for all) power is boosted, though those who have received/started a Baton Pass cannot be part of the chain again, thus preventing an endless Pass loop. 

From “test battles” alongside the Investigation Team, it’s been discovered that this ability is possible for any party of Persona-users and companions without them as long as there’s at least one Metaverse Persona-user in the combat party. And it's not necessary for passer and recipient to be close to one another (e.g. Haru and Yosuke, Ryuji and Yukiko, Mitsuru and Yusuke, etc.) given the time Akechi was in their crew; he _did_ plan on betraying them, and they’ve already seen it coming, but Baton Passes to and from him were still possible. 

Another thing the Shadow Operatives discovered (that the Phantoms already knew) was that in the Metaverse, their Evokers fired bullets just like real guns, which an unfortunate Junpei discovered when he tried it himself. Fortunately for him, his Persona Trismegistus turned a potential fatal shot to one that merely hurt like hell. 

Despite the limits on new Personas, the fact that the Metaverse being real is known to the public can lead to requests for other reasons. One such request prior to Ren's ascension was of a Palace Heist on Ghetsis Harmonia while accompanying his “adopted” son N, who first relayed this to Yusuke. But in this tale, they have a different concern. 

There is another Meta-Nav user who isn't them _or_ Goro Akechi (hopefully). Here's how it all started.

* * *

Mementos. Every place has one, and the Trope Pantheons is no different. 

The entrance of Mementos—that is, all of the Mementos of each House—had the appearance of a museum lobby. On one side was not only the exit that would take anyone inside here back out into whatever House they were in, but entrance-ways that would teleport those who cross it to any other House. As this was the 'entrance' for the Mementos version of the House of Gaming, the closest one (right next to the exit) led to Technology. With so many Houses, the wall holding the exit and portals comprised of multiple floors (five) like some lower-class condominiums complete with stairs to reach the upper ones and railings supposed to prevent anyone from accidentally falling over. The only House inaccessible from here (and every other House it connects to) is the Main House, which has been magically sealed off. It does have its own Mementos, though, but one has to enter it from there first, and entry to that House is off limits unless one is invited. Not that the Phantoms plan on taking requests from there anyway; it would be a moot point with Melkor and other powerful brainwashers around, and they don't intend to be political pawns again.

On the other side was a pathway leading deeper in. Unlike Shibuya's Mementos, instead of being themed like a subway, though it still shared a red overall hue, the Pantheon's Mementos was like somebody copied the Pantheon's temples and jumbled them to form a city district, or as much as one can make it out of Pantheon temples, though there was still a ceiling akin to the Firmament-covered Tokyo Flynn discovered in his early Samurai days, and it was comparatively much lower. Thankfully, just like Shibuya's Mementos, there seem to be roads (complete with forks, turns, dead ends, intersections, and the like) for Morgana's vehicle form (which he can now transform into in reality) to be of use. The Phantoms had also discovered that the entire dimension was divided by House, making finding Shadows of certain deities' followers, heralds, high priest(esse)s, or any other non-ascended person relatively easy.

The portals also serve as a convenient means of fast travel between Houses. Which Ren (Joker) and Futaba (Oracle) were using to their advantage right now as they proceeded to the Mementos House of Gaming from the portal to the House of Costumes, where the latter resided, for a real “hacker duel” against one Retr0, also known as Marcus Holloway of DedSec. 

"Thanks for coming with me, Joker," the navigator said. 

**"** No problem," Joker assured. "So, what do you know about this Retr0 guy?" 

Oracle was about to answer when she noticed someone as she gasped and immediately pointed to the portal leading to the Mementos House of Knowledge. Joker followed her gaze and saw one individual cross the portal. A head of long brown hair was all that they could go by before the stranger disappeared. The two immediately pursued them, Joker going on ahead. 

Once he reached the other side however, he was immediately smacked in the head by an arm that was definitely human, then shoved back the way he came by a similarly human hand, though from a different person—colliding into Oracle in the process just as she was about to cross the portal as well, knocking them over the railing and back down onto the floor. 

By the time they got off each other and back on their feet, it was too late at this point to continue the chase; their culprits would’ve most likely fled from the Metaverse by the time the two could get back on their feet.

"That wasn’t one of us," deduced Joker. "Could it be…"

"No, it’s not Crow," Oracle instantly refuted. "I’d recognize his white **or** black outfit anywhere! And he certainly doesn't grow his hair that long."

"Then it must be someone else. But no one else has the Meta-Nav. And I’m sure none of us have given the app to anybody else. What do you think, Oracle?"

Already, Oracle already had a suspect in mind. "That person…I think I know her!"

"Her?" asked Joker. 

On the other side of the portal, the non-Phantom Thieves Metaverse travelers were quickly leaving via the main exit that would take them to the House of Knowledge.

"You do know they would’ve found us eventually, right?" said one of them.

"I know, I know," the other replied as she grit her teeth. "I’m still thinking of what to say if they **do** corner us."

"Better make it soon. Or else we'll have to fight them."

* * *

In the House of Gaming proper…

Futaba was busy blowing off steam in her “hacker duel” against Retr0/Marcus, the “duel” taking place in a specialized obstacle course that also demanded physical activity. To make it fair for Futaba (since Marcus was pretty athletic), she was permitted to change into her thief outfit, which somehow allowed for increased mobility like if she was in the Metaverse, but she wasn't allowed to summon Prometheus. In return, Marcus is not allowed to attack her with his weapons (i.e. guns, his pool-ball-on-a-bungee-string, or even his fists).

Meanwhile, as he stood by in the sidelines of the obstacle course, Ren messaged the rest of the group (including Morgana, who now had a special phone of his own) in the group chat about what had just transpired in Mementos. 

**Ryuji:** For real?!  
 **Morgana:** This is bad. We need to know the new traveler fast and somehow get it back from them.  
 **Ren:** Futaba confirmed at least one of them is a female, and I think it was two of them who repelled me when I tried to follow.  
 **Haru** : I wonder what they're doing with it. Given the fact that there are no mental shutdowns lately, at least we know they're not killing people's Shadows. Yet.  
 **Makoto:** We still don't know if they've managed to enter Palaces or Mementos chambers. Or if they even know to use codenames like we do.  
 **Yusuke:** This is certainly troubling. We've all done our best to keep our Meta-Navs out of anyone else's hands.  
 **Ren:** But we don't know if Akechi has decided to entrust someone with a copy of his, or if **they** stole it from **him** . One of us has to confront him on this.  
 **Ryuji:** Not it.  
 **Makoto:** Given what he's done, I'm not sure if I can stay calm enough to ask him if I **do** find him.  
 **Haru:** I still haven't got the chance to, despite sharing a House with him.  
 **Yusuke:** To be honest, I haven't actually found the time to look for him either.  
 **Morgana:** I think he's been making a deliberate effort in avoiding us, given the last time we've seen him in person.  
 **Ren:** Yeah. We all remember.  
 **Morgana:** There are those who say he actually survived by using a Goho-M. Now why didn't we think of that?  
 **Makoto:** Hey, Ann. You've been quiet in the chat. We know you're reading this.

* * *

Elsewhere in the Pantheon…

Said Phantom in question was just finished with a photo shoot alongside Barbie and was just leaving the venue. At present, she was at a bus stop.

And indeed she was reading the chat and quiet in the matter, but that was because she was deep in thought about the whole matter. Did Futaba see… **her** ? And if they did corner **her** , which she doubted would ever happen given her legendary skills, would **she** implicate her? And assuming that was **her** , who was her partner when Futaba caught sight of them?

**Ann:** Oh! Sorry. I was just thinking… What should we do once we **do** corner the app stealers? What if they aren't bad guys?  
 **Ren:** We'll only find that out by confronting them.  
 **Ann:** I see. When do we start?  
 **Ren:** As soon as Futaba's done with her hacker duel. Let's meet up at the entrance in the Mementos House of Gaming.  
 **Makoto:** Right. Let's bring our weapons just in case this gets ugly.  
 **Haru:** Maybe I should find a smaller axe that I'm okay with. I still like the grenade launcher, though.  
 **Yusuke:** Worry not. I always have my katana in the room when I paint.  
 **Ann:** We'll be there.  
 **Ryuji:** I’m free.  
 **Makoto:** Good. Is anyone else busy right now?  
 **Haru:** I'm not.  
 **Yusuke:** I’m currently painting something, but I can hold it off for the sake of the Phantom Thieves. I'm currently under an artist’s block right now anyway. Perhaps this endeavor will spark some ideas.  
 **Morgana:** I’m on my way right now. I'll see you there. Maybe I'll run into our intruders.  
 **Ren:** Be careful. We don't yet know their strength.  
 **Morgana:** I'll be careful. 

* * *

Minutes later…

As he promised, the cat went ahead of the Phantoms and was waiting around at Mementos. Knowing there's a small chance **they** might go here, he made himself discreet, hiding at the third-floor of the wall of portals, standing next to the portals to the Houses of Love and Magic. 

A few minutes after, Panther joined him as she emerged from the House of Love portal. 

"Hey, Mona," she greeted. "You think they'll come out here?"

"I don't know, Panther." He then turned to face her. "Something we covered in the chat has me worrying."

"What is it?"

"Since Fox's ascension, Oracle and I've been making a list of deities who could potentially steal the Meta-Nav. When Joker mentioned him and Oracle seeing someone in here, a few suspects came to mind."

"Like who?"

"First are the hackers. Eventually, someone **will** be able to download our Meta-Nav from your P.A.D.s, and with it get the power to go into the Metaverse just like us. Our intruders might be one of those people."

"Are you sure? Oracle's has made plenty of countermeasures in our P.A.D.s and is always updating them all every chance she can. I'd think she'd do it **every day** if she could, but… Anyway, you mentioned First. Who else is there?"

Mona took a moment to take a deep breath before answering, "…Carmen Sandiego."

He didn’t notice his partner wince a bit.

"Given her unbelievable reputation, to the point that she can steal things like concepts and emotions, the Metaverse would be a perfect place for her to steal more for whatever plans she has, maybe even steal hearts like we do but without the need for a Calling Card. We're lucky she takes care not to kill anyone in her heists, but she's too much of a wild card to be entrusted with it. Not that—"

Any further conversation was interrupted by the sound of someone crossing one of the many portals. Unfortunately, it wasn't one that was close by. Just a second later, all of a sudden, the two Phantoms were paralyzed by an area-wide flash-like attack that left star-shaped glittering lights in the air for a few seconds. It didn't actually hurt, but both had gasped in shock. And following that were two hushed voices. 

**"** Uh-oh. Hurry," said one.

"I know!" "whispered" another.

The sound of two people crossing a portal was then heard, and then there was no more. The paralysis wore off five seconds after the flash, but it was too late to follow them. Shortly after the two cat burglars were back on their feet, as they caught their breath, their balance still a little wobbly, Noir and Skull emerged from portals leading to their respective Houses' (Family for the former, Personality for the latter) Mementos and quickly approached them to steady them. 

**"** Mona!" Noir gasped as she picked up the cat. "What happened?!

"You alright, Panther?!" asked Skull as he kept his friend steady. 

"Yeah, we’re fine," replied the pink-gloved Phantom Thief answered. 

"I think our app-stealers hit us with a flash that paralyzed us," explained Mona. "Either they knew we were here, or they’re aware we would eventually find them and this is just precautionary."

Meanwhile, Panther thought, _So it’s not Miss Sandiego, after all. That's a relief. But who_ **_are_ ** _they, then?_

* * *

Once everyone was gathered at the ground floor, Queen began to speak up as they compiled the evidence so far. 

**"** Okay. So here's what we know so far from our "Metaverse travelers"."

  1. There are at least two of them.
  2. One of them is female, has long brown hair, and is someone Oracle probably knows.
  3. It's highly probable that they're human, or at least humanoid.
  4. According to Mona, both of their voices sound identical.
  5. At least one of them has a weapon that emits a flash and paralyzes anybody within the general vicinity.



"Wait… a weapon with a flash and paralysis… Were there also glittering lights in the air?" Oracle asked. 

"Yeah," Mona confirmed. 

She snapped her fingers as she came Tina revelation, "I think I finally have a suspect!"

"Who?" asked Noir. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure you can deduce who the culprits are, but they haven't yet.


	2. The Narrow-Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom Thieves narrow down on their suspects.

(More) Additional Readings:

  * Adam Jensen, God of Men Rebuilt as Cyborgs
  * The Room of Spirit and Time, Divine Blank White Void
  * X-COM, Divine Army of Difficult Starts
  * TRON, God of Glowing Futuristic Technology
  * The Courier, Divine Messenger of the Gods



* * *

The Phantoms were now at the sub-House of Game Design, making their way to their suspect’s temple. Of course, the team split up and discreetly surrounded the temple searching for weak points of entry as Futaba approached the back door (where deities can enter their temple without passing by their followers) and rang the buzzer. 

Of course, direct confrontation/accusation was inadvisable, given how disastrous their first “interrogation” with Yusuke was (prior to him joining them) on the (true) rumors about his former mentor Madarame. 

A male voice on an intercom system responded a few seconds later. "Futaba Sakura? What brings you here?"

"Hi, Dan," she greeted. "Is your sister here? Or is it sisters? Ugh, thinking of how the Pantheon works drains my sanity meter sometimes."

"Sorry, but I think they’re both training at the Room of Spirit And Time. They won’t be back for a while."

"Right. Time flows differently there, doesn't it? Wait…but one of them doesn't even _like_ fighting."

"She knows she needs to out there. There's only so much she can learn from Adam Jensen. What do you need her for?"

"Well, there's an upcoming White Hats mission, and I thought making a Social Link with her would do some good in the long run."

"Don't you mean make a Confidant of?"

"…Oh, right! Good one." She chuckled at the meta joke here; that's what happens when you know you're a video game character. As for existential crises, the Protectors of the Plot Continuum have that covered. 

"Well, I'm sorry I can't be of much help. You can come back later, unless there's someone else here you wish to visit," Dan continued. 

"No, it's okay. Well, gotta make like an Enderman in the rain."

"Like warp all over the place?"

"Um, no. You do know that Endermen don't teleport, right? They just run really, _really_ fast. Maybe. Bye now!"

* * *

Erstwhile…

Makoto was watching the front of the temple, seeing the followers mingle and discuss moral choices. 

Half a minute after Futaba and Dan started conversing, she spotted a certain individual exiting the temple with three bags in hand, only one of them looking like it belonged to him. Or was it her? Their outfit made it hard to tell. 

Finding this as something of interest, she notified the others and described the person in the group chat. 

**Yusuke:** That must be the Courier, or Courier Six as they're addressed by some.  
 **Ryuji:** For real? How do you know them?  
 **Yusuke:** A fellow artist paid them to deliver some art supplies to me two weeks ago.  
 **Ren:** Follow them, Makoto. They might lead us to our targets.  
 **Makoto:** On my way.  
 **Ren:** Be careful. They're more likely to respond to potential threats…violently.  
 **Makoto:** Don't worry. I've improved since the time I tailed you.  
 **Ren:** (humor emoji) That's not very encouraging. 

* * *

Once Futaba was gone, Dan took out a cell phone and called his sister.

"Iji. Futaba Sakura just came over and asked where you were," he began. "The Phantoms Thieves of Hearts may be on to you."

_"Thanks, Dan, though I think I paralyzed two of them on our way out of Mementos, so I'm sure they certainly are. Where did you claim we were?"_

"The Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but I doubt she'd fall for that for long, if she even did."

_"We're going to assume they don't. The Phantoms are smart."_

**"** What do you plan on doing? There's no way they're gonna let you keep that. And I know you won't give it up easily."

 _"Yeah. We're still thinking of some compromise we can propose when_ **_that_ ** _happens."_

 **"** Okay. Well, I've already had someone send the supplies you've been gathering for this. Good luck. I only wish I could do mission control for you from here like Fuuka Yamagishi."

 **_"_ ** _Yeah. Me too. We’ll see you later."_

 **"** Take care."

A distance away, through his Third Eye, while he couldn't hear the conversation, Ren could see that Dan was warning his sister(s) and immediately notified the others.

* * *

Elsewhere in the Pantheon…

In the House of Travel, the two Ijis traversed the confusing interior as they conversed with one another. Thankfully, the House itself wasn’t mobile at the moment, but even if it was, there were gravity control systems to avoid complications like messy rooms, the bends, and things like that.

“All right. So they're definitely on to us,” the Berserker confirmed. “We can take them on.”

“That _might_ not be a good idea,” argued the Pacifist. “They'll just be that much more determined to stop us, and given how life and death works here, this will continue until either one side gives up, or the Court intervenes. 

The violent one was cross, but she saw her counterpart’s point. “Yeah, I guess. What do _you_ suggest, then?”

“Remember, we still have the upper hand. They've been adamant in keeping the Meta-Nav exclusive to themselves. I say we put that secrecy to ransom.”

The Berserker was briefly shock with this decision. “You want to distribute the Meta-Nav to—”

“Just the White Hats for a start,” the Pacifist clarified. “Besides, they already entrusted it to Carmen Sandiego.”

“More likely she stole the Meta-Nav from one of them just like you did. Wouldn't be impossible for her.”

“…You got a point there.”

“What if they decide to…you know, resort to stealing our hearts?”

“But our desires aren't that distorted to make a Palace, not even yours. And mine’s out of reach now. We even checked with your Shadow in our temple in Mem…entos.” It quickly dawned on her where they might go. “Uh oh.”

“Right. We should head there as soon as possible.”

There was a bit of urgency now, but going about this rashly just won’t do. “I'm sure they'll be waiting for us in there by now. Let's pick up a few things.”

“Like what?”

“A ride, of course. Morgana can turn into a bus, and Mementos is a very big place. We even took some motorbikes for exploring it a few times.”

She remembered that part. That was on her second foray into the Metaverse, and she had some fun busting up Shadows, getting their cash, and running into the Reaper. That boss was extremely difficult, but given what they’ve fought in their games of origin, he wasn’t that much of a nightmare as most would treat him, even if his magic does partially go through the Nanofield.

“What should we take this time? Tasen Shredders?”

“I'm thinking more of something with a sidecar. I don't think Shredders have them.”

“Right. They might end up at our tail, and one of us can fire at them. Wait…can Morgana use his Persona while he's a vehicle?”

“Personas are tied to one's identity, so I think he can. He's just never had to so far.”

“I see.” Berserker Iji decided to change the subject. “So…why haven't you given the app to me yet?”

“And give X-COM the chance to have this too?” responded to her companion. “You know how well they can reverse-engineer alien tech. Aren't they doing the same thing right now with your Nanofield _at your allowance_? You think you can keep the Meta-Nav out of their hands while they do that? What do you think they’d do with it? And what if the Phantoms run into them?”

She quickly realized the implications of an anti-alien organization getting their hands on the Metaverse Navigator, and how much of a problem that would be for the Phantom Thieves. “…Right. I didn't think of that. Thanks.” And then she realized an error in something the Pacifist said. “Wait… didn't you say you…”

Pacifist Iji realized this too and relented. “Fine. That was a partial truth. I was just going to pass it to Tron and have him judge from there.”

That was a good enough argument. “Okay.”

* * *

Naturally, Makoto has since graduated from the face-behind-a-magazine method of tailing back when she followed Ren under Kobayakawa’s orders. With her being able to use her Persona in the Pantheon proper, she's been doing it the same way Ren does.

Unfortunately for her, it seems the Courier was a lot more experienced than she thought, because they suddenly drew a ray handgun and fired a warning shot just inches from her head’s hiding place, briefly startling her. 

"I know you're there, kid," they declared. "Show yourself."

Makoto remained hidden, and began to formulate some sort of plan to take them on.

“You think I'm bluffing?” the Courier continued. “You know what happens when people mess with me. And I won't hesitate to shoot to kill either.” 

Weighing her options, she debated on whether or not she **can** take them on. Then she remembered that she was supposed to follow them to the two Ijis, not to mention the Courier’s fearsome reputation. 

And so she made her choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, do you think she'll fight the Courier? Or will she handle it peacefully? Remember what their priority is.


	3. The Pursuit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom Thieves begin the chase.

(More) Additional Readings:

  * Marcus Kincaid, God of All Small Arms and Their Exploitation
  * Giygas, God of Power Without Consciousness and Incomprehensibility
  * Missingno., the Glitchiest God
  * Labrys, Goddess of Flawed Prototypes



* * *

Immediately, Makoto emerged from her hiding spot, hands in the air. There was no time to waste fighting the Courier, and given what they did in New Vegas, it would be suicidal to even try, even for the Phantom Thieves. 

“I’m not here to fight.” she declared.

“What are you here for, then?” the Courier then asked.

“I need to speak with Iji Kataiser, one or the other. Given that you've just left her temple, and given your occupation, either you’re delivering something to her or she’s having you deliver something to someone else. Since she wasn’t at the temple, I assume it’s the former.”

The Courier gave her a hard look, trying to read her intentions, but that metal mask of hers was making it a little difficult. That said, they know what the Phantoms do, they know what their clients are, and that both of them are “on the same side” (or Grand United Alliance). They wanted to see what was up between them, so…

“All right.” The heavily armed delivery person relaxed their gun-holding arm. “But you're not hiding. You're gonna walk with me.”

“But—”

“ **I insist.”**

Knowing she has no time to argue, she conceded to their terms as she lowered her arms. “All right.”

“Hold on a second.” They just had an idea. “Your Persona, you can ride it, right? Mind if I ride with you?”

Makoto was momentarily uncertain. It’s true that she had allowed others to ride with her Persona, but that was usually reserved for her fellow Phantom Thieves, though she has given rides to her sister Sae, other allied Persona-users like Mitsuru, Akihiko, Chie, and Naoto, innocent civilians who need a ride out of a danger zone, and packages for delivery.

But she knows she shouldn't argue against the Courier now that she’s gained their cooperation, so she replied, “…Okay.”

“Thanks.” 

* * *

A while later…

Somewhere else at the House of Travel, [ a hoverbike with a sidecar](https://3dexport.com/3dmodel-hover-bike-with-sidecar-230618.htm) was just being purchased when Berserker Iji noticed a motorcycle arriving. 

“Hey, Makoto of the Phantom Thieves is headed our way,” she alerted her more negotiation-open counterpart. “And the Courier is with her?”

Pacifist Iji was briefly panicking in her head. _The Phantoms are definitely onto us now. We need to do something._

_“_ Let's not start shooting yet,” she said, keeping cool for now. _“_ Remember, this matter doesn't involve the Courier, and we don't want them to get involved.”

Indeed they were, and as the Phantom parked close to them, the _Fallout_ survivor riding with her disembarked and made their way to the pair with three bags that seemed to be generously filled with stuff, one of them being their own (and likely filled with items for other deliveries). Makoto for her part dismissed Anat and shifted to her regular attire.

Pacifist Iji greeted the Courier as they approached her. “Can I help you, ma'am? Or, uh, sir?” It was confusing dealing with a person whose gender is indeterminable.

“Never mind that. Which of you is Iji Kataiser?”

“Um, we both are. Goddess of Morality-Tracking Gameplay.”

“…I see.” They then handed over something to sign.

Berserker Iji was a little surprised with all this. “Wait. Did Dan just hire **_the_** **Courier** to deliver our stuff? ”

“Seems so.” She then accepted two of the bags the Courier was carrying and signed what they Courier provided her. “Thank you.”

“Pleasure doing business.” With the deal concluded, they turned around to leave. “I'll just leave you two and Ms. Niijima with whatever it is you three need to get straight with.”

And with that, the Courier went on their way. Probably to their next delivery. With further confirmation of the Phantoms being serious about this, they needed to hurry. But Makoto being right here made things a little complicated. And unbeknownst to the Kataisers, the Courier had merely hidden somewhere nearby for a while to see what would happen next; they would eventually get back to delivering their other stuff. 

Meanwhile, their transaction was just being concluded and the ride was ready for use. The two then proceeded to “wheel” it out of the store, where they were shortly joined by Makoto as she walked beside them. 

“So, what brings you here, Makoto?” Pacifist Iji greeted as if there was nothing wrong. “Looking for a bike, too?”

Makoto wasn’t having any of it, though. “We both know why I'm here. I need you both to come with me.”

“And if we don't?” Berserker Iji challenged.

Makoto clenched her fists in response. “Are we really going to do this?”

Knowing all too well that they were both terrible liars, neither Iji bothered making up anything as they immediately bailed. First, The Pacifist fired off her Resonance Detonator, releasing a pulse of purple energy around herself that sent the Phantom Thief flying, after which she hopped on, serving as the driver—though she kept her Nanogun to her side (the bike they purchased had a semi-autopilot system that allowed for single-arm steering)—and got their ride running as soon as the Berserker was on the sidecar.

As they took off, ready to leave the House of Travel, the sidecar passenger decided to bring up something she wanted to say but couldn't within earshot of Makoto. “That must be the first time I've seen the Courier arrive on time. Not that we've used their services before.”

“Well, where we're going, they can't follow us when we need them the most.”

“Tell me you don't plan on giving the Nav to them.”

Pacifist Iji was surprised that her other half would even **suspect** her of that. “Hell no! No one knows what this Courier did in New Vegas. Whether they might think of doing Palace Heists. Or whether they aren't above assassination. And I don't know if the Nav is compatible with Pip-Boys.”

“You didn't know if the Nav would work in the Nanofield, yet here we are.”

“I told you I didn't—” She cut herself off as she glanced at the rearview mirror and notices something. “Let's get moving. She’s closing in.”

“Gun it.”

Immediately, they accelerated in response to seeing Makoto catching up, clad in her thief outfit, really pissed off, and riding her Persona as she kept on their tail.

This was all the Phantom could do right now because (1) Anat would disappear right after using a skill, (2) it would be pointless to shoot them because Nanofields render most bullets ineffective, (3) even if she was willing to just bust their ride by shooting it, her gun was just a model and only works in the Metaverse, and (4) even if it wasn't (and Ren decided it was okay for the group to buy guns at Marcus Kincaid's vending machines [and safely dispose of the ammo afterward]) the Phantoms' personal code doesn't allow for killing. 

However, one Iji doesn't have such principles, and she was already aiming at the Persona-user. She launched an Impulse rocket at Makoto, who unfortunately managed to narrowly dodge it despite its rapid speed. “She knows we have it. Might as well escape with it.”

“Right. Hold on tight.”

“Wait. I have an idea. Let her close in. I got something for her.”

Normally, the Pacifist would've doubted her, but their time together—both as White Hats and as Metaverse travelers—fostered enough trust, and she did as her counterpart asked, decelerating abruptly enough so that Makoto ended up too close for her liking. Berserker Iji then fired… a Stun Gun blast, paralyzing and startling her enough to get her Persona dismissed and end up tumbling on the metallic hallways of the House. 

Knowing that the suit allows for extra durability, they left Makoto in the dust as they used the Meta-Nav to escape to Mementos, the dimensions warping around them as they disappeared from the House of Travel. 

* * *

Unfortunately for the Kataisers, Makoto had already alerted her teammates as soon as she had made visual contact with her targets, after which they gathered at the House of Gaming's Mementos. 

Not that they knew that yet as they traversed the roadways that comprised the main areas of the Pantheon’s Mementos. 

Versions of the House’s deities’ temples scattered the floors, but were consistent in their location. However, strange walls thematic with the House they're in are all over the floor, and _those_ are randomized as well each time anybody enters. For the House of Hatred, it's walls with the twisting image of Giygas all over it, despite it not being in that House anymore. For the House of Love, it was a gaudy shade of pink with heart-shapes. For the House of War, it was sandbags upon sandbags splattered with blood, and those formations of wood meant to impede tank movement. For the House of Travel, they take the form of giant road barricades. And they’re impervious to all forms of attacks, so plowing through is not an option. 

Thankfully, the Kataisers had entered the Quasideity floor of the area, so it was a short trip to the lobby that connects all the Houses (except the Main House), and due to the House of Gaming not holding much in common with the House of Travel, its entrance wasn’t somewhere a vehicle could reach, so they decided to take a tangential route through a few other Houses. Fortunately, the entrance was wide enough for their admittedly wide hoverbike.

After a detour to the Lobby of the House of Technology’s Mementos, they then found a first-level entrance to the House of Gaming’s Mementos, and when they plowed through it, they got the nasty surprise of bumping into the rest of the Phantom Thieves. And even as they all jumped out of the way, one of them—Oracle—ended up smack dab in the middle and was accidentally carried along on the sidecar. Thankfully for her, her suit made this more of an inconvenience than anything as she glared at the Berserker.

“You! I knew it!” the hacker yelled.

Since they were in the Metaverse, they used the code names they agreed upon during their own trips. Pacifist Iji’s was Peace Gun, while her Berserker counterpart’s was… 

“Grab her, Wild Gun!” she called.

Unfortunately, the Phantom Thief wasn’t planning on becoming their hostage and quickly jumped off before the Metaverse intruder could get her hands on her, sailing mid-air for a second as she summoned Prometheus around herself. It rolled for a bit behind and away from the two appnappers before floating…and showing the Monamobile already hot on their tail.

Peace Gun weaved her bike around the giant Shadows in the area, which resembled Missingno around here, the van and red floating orb Persona just about catching up, even as the fracas alerted all the nearby Shadows into trying to catch them. 

Had they time to observe their surroundings, they would've noticed that the Shadows of the House’s deities as well as those under them hung around at their temples. In comparison to the one the Phantoms were more familiar with, whose populace’s Shadows had spent most of their time imprisoned in the depths of Mementos.

As it is right now, sightseeing was the last thing on anyone's mind at the moment as Wild Gun fired rockets at the van. Despite a Rakukaja from Joker, Mona couldn't keep tanking hits even as Panther got him back to full health. 

“I've had enough of this!” Mona declared. “Mercurius!” From above Mona's roof, his Persona made itself known and cast a skill on the bikers. Instead of a gale force wind, a strange effect took hold. 

“Huh? The ride feels slower somehow,” Wild Gun noted. “Are you sure the seller wasn't lying about—”

“No, that was a Sukunda,” Peace Gun corrected. “Lowered agility on whatever it hits. To think it works on vehicles… Then again, Aigis and Labrys are machines, too.”

“I see—here comes another!”

“I got it covered!”

Back at the Monamobile, Skull had just leaned out the side window and summoned Seiten Taisei, who cast God Hand. A rocket fist appeared after the monkey king Persona swung his staff, and it began to close in on the bike. 

“Peace Gun!” cried out Wild Gun as her rocket she fired did nothing against the fist.

And then with a pull of the driver’s Nanogun’s trigger, a yellow force field materialized and expanded around the bike in the split second before the God Hand hit before disappearing, and the attack was then sent back, much to the shock of the Phantoms. 

The God Hand sent the van spinning before it stopped, giving time for their targets to escape from view, even as the presence of Prometheus told them they can't hide from Oracle even then. And the Shadows that ran into them shortly after gave them more time.

“Wow! Nice going!” Wild Gun was impressed. “The Resonance Reflector can work on Physical skills?”

“A projectile is a projectile, and we tested that when we first fought Shadows here, remember?”

“Right.” 

Now that the Phantom Thieves were onto them, it was time to make a decision as to how to handle their current situation with them. Even if they were to escape now, their conflict would just escalate unless they come with an arrangement soon. 

“So, we're going straight?”

“…Yeah,” agreed Peace Gun. “We need some time to come up with our bargain.”

“Well, at least that's four floors counting this one. Let's hurry.”

* * *

After dealing with the Shadows, the Phantoms were recuperating as they formulated their next plan while Mona cruised on. Oracle was aboard as well, but she can see what needed to be seen anyway through her goggles. 

“We're lucky you didn't use Ziodyne, Skull!” scolded Mona. “That could've totaled me!”

“That was why I used a Physical skill! How should I know that her reflector can send that back, too?!”

“Oracle, can you track them?” Joker asked.

“Already done. It's easier than pinpointing Shadows. Wild Gun and Peace Gun, which seem to be their code names, are currently headed up, and they're still moving right now. What do you suggest we do?”

“Should we wait for Queen to catch up?” asked Noir. “That was part of the plan, right?”

As if on cue, she arrived on Anat before dismissing her as she hopped on Mona's back and entered him. 

As she boarded the van with the rest, taking the front passenger seat, she asked, _“_ Have I missed anything?”

“Not much. Our foes are more informed on this than we first expected.”

“They sent Skull’s attack back at me with a reflector,” Mona explained. “Unless they set up a Tetrakarn beforehand…”

“No, it was the Resonance Reflector, one of the Nanoweapons they have in those guns of theirs,” Oracle corrected. “That yellow pulse is unmistakable.” She paused as her data from Prometheus changed. “Okay, they're stalled for the time be— no, they're moving again.”

“Then let's hurry!” said Queen.

Along the way, as he drove, Joker had the crew reviewed their opponents. While both are identical in abilities (save for one Nanoweapon), their combat methods are different. The Pacifist, likely the one with the code name Peace Gun, would certainly be holding back and performing several roundabout ways to take them down, whereas the Berserker, probably the one with the code name Wild Gun, would show much less restraint, except for conserving ammo or at the Pacifist's behest. 

And judging by what the Courier delivered to them, from what Queen could make out, they were likely stocked with lots of items, and have something planned for the Phantoms.

Upon reaching the Intermediate Gods floor, Oracle got an update as Mona turned into his van form again and everyone boarded him before continuing on. 

“I got something,” she said. “It looks like our targets have finally stopped.”

“Where?” asked Joker.

“Their… temple. Or at least the version in Mementos.”

“Why would they stop there?” wondered Skull.

“No idea. They're also currently in battle with the Reaper for a while now.”

“They must've had the app for quite some time,” Queen theorized. “It's possible that they have already encountered their Shadows. As to whether or not they managed to become Persona-users somehow or…”

“Well, I'm getting **one** Persona reading there, just like on all of us,” observed Oracle.

“Which Iji has one?”

“I need to get closer first. I never had to track down a rogue Persona-user before, even when we knew of Crow’s treachery. And the fact that they're technically the same person with only divergent timelines to tell them apart doesn't help.”

“This will be a tough one. We'll be fighting two opponents who are each a one-woman army from their firepower.”

“We beat Shadow Shido and impressed Lavenza’s halves in combat,” Skull reminded them. He didn’t mention Yaldabaoth since that was more from Satanael than anyone else. “How hard can these two be?”

“Bad news, guys,” Oracle reported. “Wild Gun and Peace Gun just beat the Reaper.”

Given that he was hell for the entire party except when he had the flu (as well as for the Shadow Operatives [back when they were known as S.E.E.S.] and the Investigation Team), to hear him beaten by just two people was rather unbelievable. 

Skull was in disbelief. “For real?! That was quick!”

“Possible good news; they'll likely have blown through most of their ammo to beat him this fast. Not to mention their injuries.”

“Unless Dan delivered them healing supplies,” said Queen. “Those bags the Courier brought could've held those.”

“Which means we must hurry, but we can't run Mona or ourselves ragged as we do,” said Joker.

“Let's hope it won't come down to a fight,” Panther fretted. “One of them **is** a pacifist, right?”

Oracle frowned as she replied, “Sure, if you look at it in a specific way.” She then gave a smirk. “A distorted way. That's why she changed titles. She used to hold Pacifist Run, you know. Perhaps we _should_ steal their hearts so they'll give it back.”

“Given they're at their temple, it's likely they figured we would come to this conclusion,” said Fox.

“But one of them is a Persona-user. Her Shadow wouldn't be there in that case.”

“I really don't want to have to steal their hearts,” said Noir. “I agree with Panther. I hope we won't fight them.”

“We can decide for sure once we confront them,” Joker told everyone. “But we have to get to them first.”


	4. The Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom Thieves confront the Ijis in their Mementos temple.

(More) Additional Readings:

  * Marcus Kincaid, God of All Small Arms and Their Exploitation
  * Giygas, God of Power Without Consciousness and Incomprehensibility
  * Missingno., the Glitchiest God
  * Labrys, Goddess of Flawed Prototypes
  * Aiden Pearce, God of "Evil" Hackers



* * *

Chapter 4: The Confrontation

Meanwhile…

After fixing themselves up with the purchased medicines in the satchels, Wild Gun waited outside Mementos' version of her temple while Peace Gun was inside, talking with her Shadow. The Pacifist had already tamed her own in the TV World and turned it into a Persona, during Wild Gun’s own ascension in fact. 

No, she was not envious that she couldn't get hers. Not at all. It ran the risk of removal from the Pantheon if she stopped being a mass killer, but surely there was a chance that wouldn't happen. In fact, she and Peace Gun attempted to confront her own Shadow twice already, once in the TV World, and once in Mementos as soon as they were able to successfully navigate to this place. 

Both encounters have ended up disastrous and Peace Gun had made the call to retreat lest Wild Gun kill her own Shadow. After hearing how psychotic breakdowns occurred as a result, especially the one on Haru’s father Kunikazu, she's come to understand that it was for the best. 

Besides, it's not like she can use a Persona outside the Metaverse or TV World anyway if she ever got one, and she's too powerful to even need it. Peace Gun only confronted her Shadow to face the truth of her “pacifist” actions. She wasn't looking for a power-up then; that was just a bonus. 

“I can't believe he took that much CFIS ammo to beat,” she mused to herself before noticing something. “That better not be…”

Closing in was the “Monamobile”. And the frowns on the headlights showed that the van was pissed. 

Damned Reaper for needing way too much of their ammo to beat, and he demolished their ride, too. At least his (rare) drop was worth getting (a Divine Pillar that halves all damage to its owner at the cost of a really lowered chance of dodging), and the Meta-Nav has a fast travel teleportation feature back to the entrance or any Safe Zones visited. 

As she switched to a certain Nanoweapon, she muttered to herself. “So they _are_ planning to steal my heart. Gotta buy some more time.”

Already aiming at the van, she launched a rocket before ducking inside the temple to warn her counterpart and Shadow.

It was too late to react as the rocket slammed into Mona and exploded, tipping him over and ejecting the crew as he turned back into his cat form. And it had hurt real bad even as Queen brought him back to top condition with a Diarahan. 

As he got up, Mona declared. “That does it! We need to stop them!”

“Yeah!” Oracle agreed. “Who knows who else they've given it to by now! We need to know!”

She was the first of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts to be present in the Pantheon, and then the first to ascend as a Pantheon goddess. Sure, she was acclimated fairly well thanks to other Persona-users whose adventures preceded the Phantoms’, but there’s also a certain realization that got her…justifiably paranoid. Not only is the Metaverse Navigator a very desirable program to have, there are individuals or groups that would certainly have reason to get the app from her and might actually be able to do it. Given that Akechi most likely killed her mother via the Metaverse, there was no way in hell that she will allow it to happen to anyone ever again.

And so she had kept access to the Meta-Nav **exclusively** to the Phantom Thieves and worked overtime to make sure her phone’s (and her teammates’ phones’) security systems were always up to date and as secure as possible, an endeavor she took very, **very** seriously. It was for this reason (among others) that she eventually joined the White Hats, so she could get access to more of these measures, and she did make friends with a few of the members there, too. If only she had the foresight to know that there was someone there who can hack stuff with a touch of her hand…

Joker was curious about Peace Gun and Wild Gun’s motives himself, and he cautiously led the group into the entrance of the temple, which looked just like the one in the Pantheon proper. 

Around the temple was a cluster of swirling portals. Some of them were tiny, but others were massive enough for Mona’s vehicle form to pass through. From what the crew discovered upon crossing these before, the portals led to small Mementos chambers harboring the Shadow of a Pantheonic deity's herald, high priest/ess, follower, or otherwise non-ascended companion. The bigger portals belonged to those with distorted desires, and there were surprisingly fewer than they expected.

Then again, as the temple of Morality-Tracking Gameplay shows, it seems that those who do evil voluntarily (such as Principal Kobayakawa) or were raised to be scumbags by birth (such as Haru's ex-fiancé Sugimura) don't have Palaces/Mementos Chambers. Other vile folks without Palaces included Xykon (who's **proud** of his villainy) Junko Enoshima (who **loves** propagating despair) (much to Panther's ire; she wanted to steal her heart and the rest concurred) and Ramsay Bolton (has **too much fun** torturing, even dangling hope spots before taking them away). Even Shido had an albeit _terribly_ _misguided_ notion that **only** **he** can lead Japan to greatness. 

As they passed the entrance, the inside of the temple was plain and they didn't have to go far to find their targets. Three Ijis stood before them, all wearing the same green shirt, same black long shorts, same black shoes, and even the same Nanogun. One of them had the faint menacing aura and yellow eyes of a Shadow, and (through Oracle's goggles) one of them had the faint glow of a certain inner power. The latter also donned a pair of translucent biker shades with a silver tint, a protrusion in it for her nose, and thick blocky arms resting the shades on her ears. And all of them were aiming their weapons at the group. 

“If it isn't the righteous Phantom Thieves of Hearts,” sneered Shadow Iji. “Hah! As if keeping a monopoly on that program is righteous.”

Wild Gun put one hand on her Shadow’s shoulder. “Deep breaths. Stay calm. Let her do the talking.

Oracle pointed at the one she saw with the glow. “There. She's the Persona-user.”

As if to confirm it, Peace Gun, the one with the shades, opened a hand and summoned a glowing blue card within her grasp before dismissing it. Before the hacker could speak further (likely an explanation of the aberrant Persona-user’s Skills), she cut her off with, “Not another word, Oracle. We know why you're here.”

“You have something of ours you shouldn't be having,” Joker declared.

“I should've known somebody would've hacked my phone for the Nav. Who else has it?!” demanded Oracle.

“Just me as far as I know,” Peace Gun replied honestly. “That said, we **should** negotiate about this.”

“Are you sure this is the ideal place?” Joker asked. “The Reaper can come back in under two minutes.” 

“He doesn't enter deity temples,” Wild Gun answered. “We tested that out, among other things, when we first entered the Metaverse. Even battled him once, not counting today.”

“What else do you know?” asked the Phantoms’ strategist.

“We can discuss that during negotiations, Queen,” Peace Gun stated.

“Negotiations?”

“You thought we wouldn't think of this eventuality? Of course it would be a matter of time before one of you found us in the Metaverse. Our only hope was that it wouldn't be Crow.”

“All right.” Joker then delivered a devil’s advocate. “Should we refuse whatever terms you give, what do you plan on doing with the Meta-Nav?”

“If you refuse, then everybody in the White Hats will get a copy of it,” Wild Gun delivered.

This “threat” left most of the Phantoms stunned for a few seconds, not just from the… lack of severity in terms of… terms, but also the fact that they had been expecting heavy resistance. 

Panther was the first to break the silence. “Wait. That's it?”

“For real?” Skull mirrored her confusion.

“We're all on the same side here,” Peace Gun reminded the Phantom Thieves. “I guess it's hard to remember that with these circumstances.”

“Wait, we can't accept those terms!” stated Oracle. “The White Hats include Aiden Pearce! He can't be trusted with it! And there are more who would do worse with it!”

“And to think we both share the same code name, Fox…” the first recruit of the Phantoms went off on a tangent.

Peace Gun quickly brought the conversation back on track. “Actually, we would be giving it to Tron first, and then we and he will decide from there. You have a point for not letting Pearce have it.”

Despite this proposition sounding somewhat appealing, Oracle was as resistant as ever and was starting to panic. “No, no, no, we can't! That's still too many people, and that means greater chances of it getting stolen! It's hard enough for me as it is updating the whole team's phones' antiviruses every day!”

“For real?” asked Skull. “Every effin’ day?”

“Yes! Normally, that’s not a problem, but with all the better hackers in the Pantheon, I can never be too careful! And as much as I hate him, I also keep sending updates to Crow, too. That's how serious I am about keeping the Nav safe.”

“Seriously? You should know that keeping all this in doesn't help anyone,” commented Shadow Iji.

This prompted everyone to face her and Wild Gun. If it weren't for the current situation, the fact that someone and their Shadow were together like this and conversing with other people would've been a very strange sight. 

Given that these were her inner thoughts, Wild Gun did her best to defuse the situation. “What I meant to say was that you shouldn't shoulder that burden on your own. You've made new friends here, didn't you?”

“Of course! But that doesn't mean I can trust them with the Meta-Nav! I hadn't even **thought** about going into the Metaverse again until Fox told me about a request from N.”

“N? You mean the Pokémon Trainer by that name?” asked Peace Gun.

“Indeed,” Fox confirmed.

“Ever since I first got here, as soon as I heard that there were hackers **and** that our team’s adventure was public knowledge here, I got paranoid, since I was alone at that time,” Oracle confessed. “By using the Metaverse, Crow got my mom killed, and he also killed Noir’s father. I didn't want that to happen again. Not ever!”

Now that the reason for Oracle’s paranoia was out and justifiable, Peace Gun could understand just how worried she had made her by copying the Meta-Nav. Prior to all this, all she knew about Futaba was that she was a Persona-user, that her group was called the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, that they “change the hearts of criminals” by entering a dimension called the Metaverse (which was what intrigued her with the app in the first place), and that she was an exceptional hacker. Oh, and the psychotic breakdowns that were possible using the Metaverse, but not the degree of seriousness Oracle would take to keep such things from happening.

Yeah, she hadn't really been thinking this whole thing through, either.

"You could've asked for help in further securing your phone, and there are ways to do it without giving your helper access to it," Peace Gun suggested. "Perhaps it's time to extend that trust now." She then let out an exasperated sigh. "If only it hadn't been revealed like this…"

Just then, the sound of rattling chains rang out in the area, putting everyone on alert. 

"I warned you," Joker told the trio. "He's coming. We need to move."

"I told you, we’re safe here," Peace Gun insisted. "Though if he decides to wait outside, **that** would be a problem."

“Too late,” Oracle said, already running towards their targets. “He's already here!”

As the rest immediately followed her, Oracle's statement was followed by the Reaper crashing through the temple doors, forcing the Phantoms to retreat closer to their initial targets. 

“ **You will pay for my humiliation!** ” he bellowed before aiming his guns at Shadow Iji and Peace Gun, then firing a Psiodyne and a Freidyne. 

As Wild Gun moved in front of her Shadow to defend her, the blasts hit their targets…and the reflective barriers of a Makarakarn skill appeared and sent them back to the Reaper, blowing him out of the premises.

After a brief discussion with each other via military hand signals, Wild Gun stayed with her Shadow to keep her safe while Peace Gun dashed out of the temple to confront the Reaper and knock him back further with a rocket blast, after which she took a moment to face the Phantoms. 

“Well, you guys coming or what?” she then asked before turning away to fire at the Reaper, already having changed to a more optimal Nanoweapon. 

A sphere of red explosive energy was expelled from it, hitting the Reaper and exploding violently into smaller clusters of red energy, each of which exploded as well. 

“What about Wild Gun?” Noir asked.

As she fired another Shocksplinter round, Peace Gun retorted. “And give one of you the chance to steal her heart while we're busy?”

“If it means anything, Panther and I weren't supportive of that idea.”

“Thanks. I'll be swapping with her after a bit anyway.”

As they spoke, the rest of the Phantoms were already in battle stations, and Prometheus once more floated above them. Joker just finished casting a Tarukaja on Skull before turning to face Peace Gun.

“It seems your record time battle has riled him up a lot,” Joker commented. “The Reaper's never acted like this before.”

“I should probably not do that again, huh?”

“Yeah,” he agreed before joining in the fight.

Peace Gun **had been** planning to open with a Massacre blast, which was also what she would've fired on the Phantoms had they chosen to fight, fully counting on Oracle to expend her Final Guard to stop it. After which she would switch her weapon, of course. But given the Reaper's attitude, that probably wasn't a good idea according to Joker. And given that he and his team have been here longer, she will defer to his judgment.

“All right,” As she waited for an opening, Peace Gun aimed at the Reaper once again, then moved her left hand holding up the front end of her weapon a little ways away, still propping it up with her wrist. Over her now free hand, her Persona card materialized. “Adrestia!”

Upon smashing her card, her Persona emerged from behind her. It was an alien soldier standing over 9 feet tall, covered head to toe in futuristic armor that's colored white and light gray. In its hands was a Nanogun just like Peace Gun, though its shape was different. On its back was a pair of scales like the ones imagined in the Libra constellation, and holding that to her back was a Spartan aegis. 

Notably, the helmet also had a white cloth covering its visor. But it didn't seem to hinder Adrestia as she freed one hand to wave it at the Phantoms and the magic-reflecting shield that was Makarakarn flashed over each of them before disappearing. Oracle was almost startled until remembering that Peace Gun’s Persona was awakened in the TV World and skills acquired between there and the Metaverse differed in certain ways. 

Inside Prometheus, Oracle groused to herself, “So unfair that Joker’s Personas can't shield everybody with reflect skills like that.”

The fight continued the same way it always did when it came to fighting the Reaper; keep slinging your strongest skills until it dies, and to remember healing up and restoring SP. Peace Gun for her part focused more on firing with her weapon, and occasionally re-casting Makarakarn. Notably, oftentimes, she summons her Persona either after switching Nanoweapons or after firing a Nanoweapon with a long cooldown time such as rockets (be it in ones or threes), Magnetically-Propelled Fission Bombs, Shocksplinter projectiles, and Plasma Cannon rounds, therefore optimizing time spent on contributing to the battle. 

As she promised, though, Peace Gun eventually switched out, but not before re-casting Makarakarn on the way back to her temple. Wild Gun came out a few seconds later, and the difference between fighting styles were made clear, besides her lack of a Persona. 

For one, she was naturally more aggressive, and was even intentionally drawing more of the Reaper's attention. For another, whenever it attacked someone else with a physical attack, or if the other victim was weakened, she would often try to tank the blow on their behalf, making full use of her Nanofield’s resistance to most physical attacks. Well, Peace Gun did that too, but not as often. And third, she was dodging much less attacks due to possessing the Divine Pillar she and Peace Gun got earlier. 

Fourth, it turns out she had another weapon up her sleeve. After waiting for Mona to finish a Lucky Punch that missed, she shifted her Nanogun to one hand, reached into somewhere with her other, and drew something. It was made apparent what it was as a short blue lightsaber blade emerged from it to stab into the Reaper before the immediately sheathed and holstered it and used her now-free hand to hold onto her Nanogun once more. 

Wild Gun considered finishing off the Reaper with a banana explosive, but Joker’s warning staved off that idea. So she resorted to an MPFB that disintegrated the enemy in a spectacular blue explosion. This time, though, no Divine Pillar was left behind. 

Once the dust has settled, Peace Gun emerged from the door of the temple and let out a sigh of relief. “Now that that's over with, how about we start?” she said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, the two parties were going to fight, but I couldn't figure out who else would irrationally lash out at the Kataisers (besides Futaba, since she was self-tasked to protecting it from hackers). Maybe it will come out as a bonus chapter.
> 
> And the Reaper battle was glossed over since I didn't think it was overly important to the narrative.
> 
> As for Wild Gun's shoto lightsaber, this is the Pantheon, which is an incredibly extensive crossover. Everyone is bound to pick up all sorts of things. I'll explain next chapter.


	5. The Discussion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantoms and the Kataisers make their way back out, and along the way, they talk about things.

(More) Additional Readings:

  * Gray Mann, CEO of Money Spiders
  * Ramza Beoulve, God of Unfairly-Punished Heroism
  * Commander Shepard, Deity of Gathering Unusual Parties
  * EDI, Goddess of Spaceship Girls 
  * Legion, Deity (Deities?) of Mind Hives
  * Bayonetta, Goddess of Seducing Viewing
  * Rodin, the Demonsmith
  * General Grievous, God of Frontline Military Leaders
  * Sheev Palpatine, God of The Empire and The Dark Side
  * Yoda, God of Odd Syntax Speech Style
  * Ahsoka Tano, Goddess of the Master-Apprentice Chain



* * *

Chapter 5: The Discussion

A better part of an hour later… 

After the Phantoms (specifically Oracle) were convinced to at least discuss the whole Meta-Nav matter with Tron and that getting help in keeping the app secure is better in the long run, they gave Wild Gun and Peace Gun a ride back to the entrance, given their hoverbike got busted and all. 

Sure, they could easily teleport to the entrance, but sometimes a cruise in the Monamobile gives proper time to think on things. As long as Joker can easily navigate around the Shadows.

As he glanced at their new passengers through the mirror, the leader of the Phantom Thieves asked the million-yen question on the crew’s minds. “So, why  _ did _ you get the Meta-Nav?”

“Are you kidding? Who  _ wouldn't  _ want to get it?” replied Peace Gun as she enumerated the reasons. “To be able to enter someone's mind, to change them—be it in a Palace, or in Mementos—would be something nearly anyone would like to have, though the Shadows might turn away some of them. Also, the portals at the entrance make it great for fast travel across the Pantheon. Not to mention a quick escape. And the Shadows happen to drop money, too, though whether or not that’s worth more than busting up money robots in the House of Commerce, even Gray Mann’s, is yet to be seen. There's just so much you can do with it.

Skull asked the next question. “How the hell did you even get the app?”

Oracle answered for her. “She must've used her Nanofield to hack my phone in my early days among the White Hats.” She then faced Peace Gun. “The question is, how did you know the Meta-Nav was even compatible with it?”

She shrugged her shoulders in response. “I didn't. If it didn't work, that was that, and I would just forget about ever getting it.”

"'I'?" Panther spotted the thread and gestured at Wild Gun “You mean she doesn’t…”

“Nope,” Wild Gun responded. “She knows I work with X-COM, and you would know quickly if  _ they _ had it.”

“Additionally, I  _ did _ and  _ do _ have a phone and  _ it _ holds the Meta-Nav.” Peace Gun tapped somewhere at a pocket in her long shorts. “I just use the Nanofield to access it. You get a lot of time to experiment with what you have when your entire planet’s not at stake.”

“Now that's got me thinking: just what other devices is the Meta-Nav compatible in?” Oracle mused. “Tablets? Dialpad cellphones? PDAs? Omnitools? PETs? COMPs? Pip-Boys? The possibilities are endless!”

Wild Gun let out a nervous chuckle. “Funny you should mention Pip-Boys.”

Given what they just went through, the hacker assumed the worst. “Don't tell me you—”

“Of course not!” Peace Gun assured. “Just because I got the app from you doesn't mean I'm more liberal with who else gets it.”

At that point, the Monamobile reached the steps leading down to the Lesser Gods floor, forcing everybody to disembark as Mona changed back to his cat form and they proceeded to walk down the stairs.

As the pair of appnappers walked with the Phantoms, the latter can't help but notice just how tall the former were, more so than their tallest, Fox, who stands at 5’11".

Queen decided to broach another topic. “Speaking of the Courier, what did Dan have them deliver you?”

Wild Gun turned to face Peace Gun, as if waiting for her approval. When she gave it with a nod, she answered by taking out her satchel and opening it to reveal the contents. “Well, it's just all sorts of healing items that don't need to be ingested, and a few that do, as well as a few other combat items. Just in case you decided to pick a fight with us, and it helped in our first run-in with the Reaper.”

“You really had a lot of healing items packed,” Joker commented.

“Given your own achievements, and the fact that Nanofields don’t block magic that well, we weren’t taking chances. You also did kill  **Yaldabaoth** , after all.”

Noir noticed a glass bottle containing Potion liquid. “What about that one? It looks pretty fragile.”

“It's meant to be a smash-on-contact, just like how Chemists under Ramza throw their healing items,” Peace Gun explained.

“Wouldn't they break and hurt you?”

“That's the idea, and our Nanofields would shield us from the shards while letting the fluid through.”

Oracle noticed a red futuristic medkit. “Huh, you also have Medi-Gel here too just like Commander Shepard's crew.”

**“** I thought it could also help with restoring Nanofield health if it can work on machine bodies like EDI and Legion. And it does.”

Panther checked out a set of familiar items among the inventory. “You have Snuff Souls?”

“Well, I  **am** a Persona-user. Of course I’ll need SP-recovery items. They’re a little hard to come by, though we’ve started testing other food items to see which heals what and how much.”

“We do that, too,” Joker said. “From what we learned, Coffee, sodas, and energy drinks certainly restore SP, though the former certainly does it much better, and more so depending on the quality of the brew.”

“The power of Cognition is strong here and in the TV World, it seems,” Mona commented. “Where ordinary food can heal wounds just as well as potions and spells because that's how video games have portrayed it.”

Fox picked out a piece of candy from the bag. “Green Herb lollipops? I've seen Bayonetta consume one of these when she was in the mood to be my muse one day. And then YHVH’s angels ruined it and we had to fight them.”

Wild Gun swiped the lollipop back from him and returned it to the bag. “I purchased a few at Rodin’s place after I considered taking him on, preferably his Father Rodin form. That said, I don't have enough halo equivalents to purchase a Platinum Ticket yet. Did you know you don't have to cash it in right away?”

“Hmm, maybe I should go there sometime and get my katana upgraded there.”

“We should all go there and get weapon upgrades, Noir suggested. “I wonder what demonic weapons would do to Shadows. I can’t wait!”

This elicited an awkward mood (save from Wild Gun) as they reached the bottom of the stairs and Mona changed to his vehicle form. Everyone shortly boarded him and they were on the move again. That said, the idea of upgrading weapons had its appeal for everyone.

“I wanna give that a try too, but I’m not sure how well demon magic and Tasen technology would mix,” Wild Gun said. “That, and Dan would probably be all over me for having such an absurd idea.”

“I've been thinking of taking on Rodin, too,” Joker remarked. “But not until I can prove I can take on Lavenza one-on-one.”

“Dude, she was hard enough with us fighting her  _ together _ !” Skull exclaimed. “You really think you can do that by yourself?”

“Minato battled Elizabeth one-on-one with only Fuuka as his witness. Yu did the same against Margaret with only Rise as support. It might be difficult, but I think I can do it.”

With nothing else to say about the inventory of healing items, which were shortly put away, Skull decided to ask another question. “So, Wild Gun, what’s with the lightsaber you had?”

For some reason, she felt being a little evasive. “Don't worry, I haven't got into trouble with any of the Jedi, ascended or otherwise. I did face off against General Grievous, though.”

Noir expressed shock, as did a few of the other Phantoms. “Really?”

“It was during a White Hats mission in one of Palpatine's Star Destroyers. We got ambushed by Grievous, and I bought the others time to escape by taking him on.”

“For real?! You managed to  _ steal _ a lightsaber from  _ him _ ?!” asked Skull.

Wild Gun scoffed at the idea, though she did wish it was true. “I wish. I may be tough, but even my Nanofield can't withstand multiple lightsaber hits. Also, he retreated as soon as I heavily damaged three of his arms. No, my  _ shoto  _ lightsaber here—the kind Yoda and Ahsoka use—is just a toy I bought after my and Peace Gun’s second foray into the Metaverse, after which we decided to test if toy weapons behave like the real thing.”

This interested Oracle. “ _ Second  _ foray? How many times have you been in here?”

“Enough times to use it reliably,” Peace Gun supplied. “We haven’t entered any Mementos chambers or Palaces. Well, there was one of the former, but we immediately bailed since I feared you would suspect someone. Sooner, that is.”

She wouldn't tell them this, but her first trip was by herself just to see if the app worked. Since she didn't enter Mementos from the House entrance, she had to trek down to the “lobby” all the way from the Intermediate Gods floor before she could exit the place. While unwilling to kill even the Shadows along the way (though she doesn't hold herself accountable for reflect-kills after giving them sufficient forewarning), she learned the art of negotiating with them for money, items, and free healing, if she wasn’t fleeing. Of course they never thought of joining her; that talent’s exclusive to Joker, though they have yet to test if this also works for other Wild Cards like Yu and Aigis (or Sensei and Gen Seven, as their code names were in the Metaverse).

The second time she went to Mementos—after telling her counterpart and her brother about the first one—was with the former both as a sign of trust and for someone to do the Shadow killing, and they saw that different Nanoweapons also counted as different Elements (not that they’d know since they didn’t know which ones their weapons did, but Oracle later discovered that their Pulse Cannon did Fire, the MPFB did Nuclear, the Shocksplinter [and by extension the Splintergun] inflicted Gun just like her conventional gun options [Shotgun, Buster Gun, Machinegun] and rockets [just like with Noir's grenades], Plasma Cannon does Bless, and the CFIS did Electric  _ but _ its upgrade the Velocithor does Almighty for some reason), enabling for more knockdowns and Hold Ups (no All-Out Attacks, though, as Peace Gun refuses to participate) It was also then that they decided on code names just like the Phantoms do. 

The third time, they tested some foods and other healing items. What they had in their bags right now were the ones they thought were most efficient. The fourth time, they tried out the rule of Cognition on weapons as long as they look real, such as Wild Gun’s toy shoto and other stuff. After that were standard fast travel trips, Wild Gun's test run of her shoto, and Shadow hunts before Oracle and Joker caught sight of them earlier today. It was hard to believe that all of this happened in just that short a time.

“You know, today has got me thinking,” Wild Gun had an idea. “…Since Persona-users don’t have their Shadows in Mementos, maybe getting Personas for as many deities as possible can work. However, have those who successfully faced their Shadows in the TV World but failed to get Personas there still have Shadows here?”

“Why would you want us to do that?” Mona asked.

“It can protect against mental shutdowns or heart-changing. Remember that Crow is still unaccounted for, and who knows if he’s entrusted the Meta-Nav—or at least Metaverse access with him—to someone else unlike the rest of you, or if someone stole it from  _ him _ ? You should understand this risk most of all, Oracle, Noir.”

Both mentioned Phantoms knew what she meant as they reached the next set of stairs, disembarked Mona, and walked down with him.

“Hmm, not a bad idea,” Joker had to agree. “But that also blocks from heart-changing if their desires become distorted.”

“But Personas can turn back into Shadows, right?” said Peace Gun. “After all, I heard it happened to Yu once.”

“She’s right,” Queen supported. “And I saw hypothetical scenarios in the House of Prophecy where the same happened to you, Joker, after your…capture and torture session before my sister interrogated you, even as far as getting a Palace. It’s a miracle you managed to stay sane after all that.”

“Yeah. I’m not sure how I managed to get by, either.”

“Regarding your suggestion, Wild Gun, that…sounds like a valid argument.” Mona had to say.

“Unfortunately, we have no such in the House of Gaming, so we'll have to check that some other time,” said Oracle. “As for you two…”

“Let's talk with Tron about that, alright?” the technical pacifist reminded.

“Fine, fine.”

Once they were down on the Demigods floor, they were on the move in the Monamobile once again.  At the moment, nobody had any topics to broach, so it was a relatively quiet cruise until…

“Whoa!” Mona gasped. “That's…” He (and Joker and Queen at front) managed to catch sight of Carmen Sandiego darting into a temple, and Mona voiced his shock as she disappeared. A second after, all eyes (sans Wild Gun, Peace Gun, and Mona) were on Panther.

Natrually, she was flustered at this kind of attention. “C-c-come on! You know what she’s capable of!”

“Panther, tell us the truth, Joker insisted. “Did she steal the Meta-Nav from you, or did you give it to her?”

“Maybe Carmen sneaked in with one of you or Crow during a prior use of the Meta-Nav?” peace Gun theorized.

“Or even with Queen or us when we went in today,” Wild Gun added. “Or she could've stolen it from any one of you, really.”

“I really should make a tracker app one of these days,” grumbled Oracle.

“Panther, please answer the question,” Noir said.

“What's the point of this?” the technical pacifist asked. “Whether or not Carmen was given the app or if she stole it, it doesn't change the fact that she has it.”

But in the face of everyone's stares, Panther eventually caved in. “Yes. I gave the app to Carmen.”

Naturally, Oracle was ballistic at this. “What?! How could you?!”

“Why did you give it to her?!” Queen demanded.

“Because the Meta-Nav is known to everyone, including her,” the ‘culprit’ explained. “It was only a matter of time until she decided to take it from one of us, and I didn't want her to take it at a most inconvenient moment.”

“So in order to keep her from stealing the Meta-Nav from us, you chose to give it to her freely?” guessed Fox.

Panther nodded, feeling really miserable from what she had to confess. Skull placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to console her. 

“Already your security measures are showing holes,” Wild Gun pointed out. “Even if you've caught us, I don't think we and Carmen Sandiego are the only ones who have the Meta-Nav besides yourselves and Crow.”

“I get it, I get it,” said Oracle. “We'll visit Tron and talk about this.”

Knowing this could get out of hand if left to fester, Peace Gun pleaded, “Please don't let this matter divide you. Panther's right; Carmen would have acquired it sooner or later.”

* * *

One more disembarkation, one more change from vehicle to toon cat, and one more stairway descent, this time to the Quasideities floor where the “lobby” also resides. And then one more change yet again from took cat to vehicle, and one more boarding up, and they were off again.

“There's something else I wanted to ask about, Joker.”

“What is it, Peace Gun?”

“What are your plans for this place also being used as a means of confronting the worst part of yourself?”

“If you're talking about the Persona-unlocking business, I don't think we can find replicate it that well here. After all, even if they do awaken one, it can only be used in here or the TV World.”

“Well, just in case you do find someone you can trust who wishes to acquire one anyway from here, I have a suggestion when it comes to clients you’d think won't be inclined to go out of line should they join a Heist. ”

This intrigued him a little. “I'm listening.”

“I'm thinking…as long as the client truthfully doesn't have murder as their primary motive for awakening a Metaverse Persona, or just accompanying you on a Heist, you'll be sure they won't kill any deities’ Shadow and trigger mental shutdowns, which  _ would _ lead the victim to their death.  **I** would  _ definitely _ count that as killing someone.”

“Hmm, I wonder if I could apply,” Wild Gun muttered to herself. “Nah. Probably not.”

Having caught that since the two were beside one another, Queen furrowed her brows and asked, “Why would you want to, and why should we accept you?”

“For the first few weeks after my ascension, I've been in a slump from realizing the mistake that cost me my planet and ultimately brought me here. I eventually recovered thanks to sessions with Dr. Frasier Crane, but I still feel like I've lost much of my drive, my determination, as a result. I'm hoping that a trip to the Metaverse will help reignite it. I don't want anybody else to feel that oppression I felt when those aliens thought they could do whatever they wanted just because they had power. ”

“Huh. Given what I managed to get from you, that sounds suspiciously like you're implying that because you were oppressed by those with power, that it makes us not so different,” Oracle indicated.

“Well, I still won't have the Meta-Nav anyway, and I know my path has been paved with blood. And what Peace Gun said should mostly apply to those you would entrust with the Meta-Nav, as those without it that you don't trust can be easily kept out by simply not using the app on them.”

“Actually, I've still yet to figure out how to get it to exclusively transport its phone's holder. Someone holding on to one of us can still head in.”

“Then isn't it a simple matter of avoiding contact as you escape?” said Peace Gun. “Or  **not** using it if you're cornered like that?”

“That will have to be something we should discuss later. As for your suggestion, Wild Gun, that… might actually work. As for Metaverse Persona awakening, we'll need time to think about what makes one eligible for such an awakening.”

“That's understandable. …Huh. Now that you put it that way, I think if you were accepting clients like Yu does, and I hadn't gotten my Persona then, I might've gotten it here.”

Eventually, the Monamobile finally reached the lobby… just in time to see a familiar face emerge from the “entrance”. It was Marcus, who Futaba dueled against earlier that day. 

Having had enough of this, Joker called forth Satanael, which was much smaller than when he was called forth to eliminate Yaldabaoth, but still of an enough of an imposing size to keep the intruder from fleeing as he drew and aimed his long-barrelled handgun. 

As he put his hands up in the face of the giant devil’s firearm, Marcus took a bit to collect his nerve before he said, “Umm, I can explain.”

“Like we said, we're not the only ones,” Wild Gun felt like reminding again.

“Yeah, yeah,” grumbled Oracle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll do the initial forays in a bonus chapter.
> 
> And we'll come to the conclusion next chapter.


	6. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantoms and the Kataisers talk to Tron about the Meta-Nav, and then life goes on.

(More) Additional Readings:

  * Dr. Hal Emmerich, God of Non Action Guys
  * Ed, Goddess of Playful Hacking
  * Aiden Pearce, God of "Evil" Hackers
  * DedSec, San Francisco chapter, Divine Group of Hackers Accompanied With Skull Imagery
  * The Doom Slayer, The One-Man Army



* * *

Chapter 6: The Aftermath

Somewhere in the Grid… 

At a secluded and secure location, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, and the “unauthorized” owners of the Meta-Nav that they've caught now stood before Tron as he reviewed what they had told him.

“So that's how it is,” the White Hats leader said.

“Yes, Tron” answered Ren. He then gestured at the Ijis. “And these two have shown a major issue in our current security measures.”

“I see. Again I'll ask, why do you wish to keep the Meta-Nav exclusive to your group?”

“The Court of the Gods has permitted us to use the Metaverse however we please so long as we don't give them reason to require policing it,” explained Makoto. “If things go out of control, such as too many mental shutdowns or the like… Well, the best case scenario is that they'll likely make us share the Meta-Nav with them, and they'll be watching us from inside. Worst case scenario, we'll be blocked off from using it altogether except hopefully for fast travel purposes.”

“The only reason the TV World isn't under similar restrictions is because nothing in there can directly affect the outside world,” Morgana added.

“Well, unless there's a dead body left in there, after which the corpse will appear atop a telephone pole, but the House of Life and Death takes care of that.” Ren pointed out.

Ryuji then spoke up, “We use the Metaverse for helping people the government can't or won't help, and because it's out of their reach. If we lose that, if even the Metaverse gets all tangled up in all their political shit, can we really still call ourselves Phantom Thieves?”

Tron thought all of this through, as well as what the Phantoms have told him about the Metaverse. He weighed the pros and cons of ensuring Futaba's allegiance to the White Hats, the risks prevalent with letting others keep the app, their trustworthiness to not commit murder with it, the ramifications of having the Phantom Theives of Hearts as their enemy, the measures the Court will resort to if things go out of control, and so on. Not to mention what exactly will be the right thing to do (Sora has visited him just a few hours ago before this meeting, so he still had some optimism left in him).

Ultimately, he reached a decision. 

“It seems that cooperation will be the best course of action to ensure loyalty and minimize infighting between you and the White Hats,” he finally declared.

“Thank you, Tron,” said Ren.

“So, uhh, what happens now?” Marcus then asked.

“At present, I will decide along with the Phantom Thieves of Hearts who is permitted to possess the Metaverse Navigator. Unfortunately, Mr. Holloway, you are not on the list.”

The dark-skinned hacker let out an exaggerated before relenting, “All right, all right.” He proceeded to take out his phone, unlock it, and show the Meta-Nav to Futaba as he deleted it. Then he remembered something else. “That said, what if the app comes back just like with Ren the first time?”

“We'll cross that bridge when we get there, Retr0,” Futaba answered him.

* * *

Two days later…

In the end, on top of being able to come with an agreement with the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Pacifist Iji was able to keep her Meta-Nav. It was also discovered that Dr. Hal Emmerich a.k.a. Otacon possessed the app as well. And so had Aiden Pearce, Raymond Grady, and Radical Edward, but those three soon had their Meta-Navs “confiscated”. Otacon was allowed to keep his copy after he was made to swear  **not** to use it to assassinate any deities’ Shadows, even indirectly via his allies like Snake. 

The White Hats as a whole now know of the Meta-Nav, and possession of it requires authorization from BOTH Tron and the Phantom Thieves collectively. And since there’s the chance that yet others might've gotten the app in the meantime, as soon as Futaba got home to her temple, she quickly created a program that can track any and all devices that have the Meta-Nav, even if it wasn't a phone. And for the next few days, they would go searching the Metaverse for illegal possession of the Meta-Nav and bring them in for evaluation. No one would bother with Carmen Sandiego, though, given how elusive she can be.

That didn't matter for the Kataisers, however. Right now, they had something else to do. Now that the Phantoms won’t be on their tails (unless perhaps it’s Akechi), they were free to do whatever they wanted in the Metaverse, as long as it won’t eventually force the Court to intervene.

“So, where are we going today?” asked Berserker Iji as her Pacifist counterpart used the app on her phone. Both were at their temple having lunch, and Dan was with them.

“You’ve considered yourself as a ‘client’ for the Phantoms, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, perhaps we can go find your ‘Catalyst’ ourselves. I mean, all we need is what that person thinks of as their Palace, and where it is. I managed to learn more since our encounter yesterday.”

“Catalyst?” Dan asked, curious about this conversation.

“Examples include an abusive parent to their child, or the leader of a tyrannical regime—be it a kingdom or a company, even one who's still aspiring to become one—to an oppressed individual. That’s what I could deduce from the Phantoms’ Targets throughout their adventure. I think Ghetsis Harmonia could count as one for N. That said, this case might be a problem.”

It took a few seconds for the Berserker to understand. “Oh, right. The interplanetary Komato Empire would be our Catalyst. We don’t know any of the top brass, General Tor was just a slave to public opinion, and we don’t even know his last name.”

“Hmm… what about that Annihilator?” Dan suggested. “Iosa, I think her name was.”

“Worth a try. I think I remember the full name when I cracked her Nanofield.” His Pacifist sister inputted the name. “Iosa Sakera.”

“ _ Result found _ ,” answered the application’s voice.

“Well, what do you know?” Upon looking at the app’s results, she saw something else. “Huh. No Palace. We can find her at Mementos.”

“Are you going now?” Dan asked his sisters.

“Hold on. Let me check our schedule.” After doing just that for a few minutes, she said, “We got an infiltration mission against Count Dooku’s forces. It’s due in a week.”

The Berserker gave a wistful smile. “Hmm… maybe I can steal a lightsaber from Grievous this time.”

“For yourself?” Dan queried.

“It’s a pretty useful weapon, all things considered. I won’t face off against any Sith with it, of course. But if the Jedi want it back, I’ll have to surrender it.”

“So, are you going to the Metaverse today?”

“I think we can spare the time.” She then turned to face her counterpart. “Where is Iosa anyway?”

“House of War, under Zero. Or was it the Doom Slayer? Either way, I think we can go now if you want.”

“Sure. ”

“Should you let the Phantoms know?” Dan asked his sisters.

“That won’t be necessary, but it’ll be polite to do so,” stated the Pacifist, already having switched out of the Meta-Nav and into the messenger app to text Ren. “I mean, all we’re going to do is encounter our Catalyst and hopefully not kill her, right?”

“Of course,” stated her counterpart. “That’s why I got you to watch me.”

“ **And** to get you in.”

“Right.”

“So I’ll see you later, then?” said Dan.

“Yeah. Later.”

“I’ll make sure to bring back a souvenir!”

And with that, the two departed from their temple, and life continued in the Trope Pantheons, changing several small steps at a time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's officially it. There are two extra chapters, but as far as story goes, this is finished.
> 
> See ya on Third!


End file.
